Risky weather conditions could see MH370 search called off

Risky weather conditions could see MH370 search called off

Owen Jacques is an award-winning investigative journalist from Mackay, now based on the Sunshine Coast as APN Australian Regional Media’s Online News Editor. He has a strong background reporting on politics, business and breaking news. Owen has also specialised in resources reporting, which included a successful campaign to fight 100% fly-in, fly-out mining in rural Queensland towns.

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6AM: THE flow of information about the lost Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has slowed to a trickle 20 days after the Beijing-bound flight disappeared after leaving Kuala Lumpur.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is to continue searching giant swathes of ocean about 2500km south-west of Perth, using seven aircrafts pulled from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, South Korea, China and Japan.

The Australian Navy's HMAS Success and China's polar supply ship Snow Dragon or Xue Long remain in the search zone, scouring for debris at sea level.

The Biloela-raised Rodney Burrows and wife Mary were both aboard the doomed flight.

The two were headed for a three-week holiday in China.

Their children and parents - along with other relatives of the 239 on board - were told by the airline on Monday that their loved ones were likely killed.

On Wednesday, Malaysian authorities published new information about when the flight is expected to have crashed - somewhere between 10am and 11.15am AEST on March 8.

This was the final time there was "partial handshake" between a ground state and the plane.

Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said somewhere between those times, "the aircraft was no longer able to communicate with the ground station".

"This is consistent with the maximum endurance of the aircraft," he said.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott meanwhile said the search would continue until "there is absolutely no hope of finding anything".

"We owe it to people to do everything we can to resolve this riddle," he said.